Health education as the main alternative to promote the health of the elderly

This is an integrative review aimed to identify the scientific evidence on the educational health actions designed to promote the health of the elderly. A literature search was conducted in Medline, Lilacs, BDENF, CINAHL and in SciELO virtual library databases, by crossing the descriptors Education in Health, Elderly, Aging, Elderly Health, Health Promotion and Quality of Life, including articles conducted with elderly people published from 2003 to 2013, in English, Spanish and Portuguese. Eight articles, which presented quality of life and promotion of healthy aging as a result of health education strategies, were selected. Health education actions for elderly need methodologies that attend the complexity of the aging process and correlate the factors surrounding the individual, such as beliefs, values, norms and ways of life.